KDHE Launches Kansas Tobacco Quitline
Quitline Available for Quitters Seeking Help on Great American Smokeout

The Kansas Department of Health & Environment (KDHE) is launching a new resource to help Kansas tobacco users quit. The 24-hours a day, toll-free Kansas Tobacco Quitline (1-866-KAN-STOP) offers tobacco users a confidential and convenient way to access immediate help when they are ready to stop using tobacco or need support to remain tobacco-free. The Kansas Tobacco Quitline is one piece of a comprehensive tobacco prevention program.

“The Kansas Tobacco Quitline is key in reducing tobacco use in Kansas and saving lives,” said KDHE Secretary Roderick L. Bremby. “We know that the majority of Kansas smokers want to quit and that they have a better chance of succeeding if they get help from trained counselors.”

Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in Kansas. Each year tobacco kills more people in Kansas than alcohol, car accidents, AIDS, violent crime and illegal drugs combined. Every year Kansas spends $270 per resident on smoking-attributable medical expenditures. In 1998, the smoking-attributable health care cost to Kansas was $724 million. The cost to the state in lost productivity due to tobacco-related illness was $721 million in 1999 (based on the most current data available). That brings the total estimated annual expenditure for tobacco-related health care and lost productivity to more than $1.4 billion.

Nationally, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. More people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. In 2003, there will be about 171,900 new cases of lung cancer in the United States and about 157,200 people will die of this disease.

“By implementing the Kansas Tobacco Quitline, Kansas will have another resource in the prevention of lung cancer and premature death attributed to tobacco use,” Bremby said. “Programs like this can be the difference between successfully stopping tobacco use and a lifelong deadly habit.”

With Kansas Tobacco Quitline, experienced cessation specialists answer the calls and work with the caller to conduct a personalized analysis of their tobacco use habit and then develop a customized Quit Plan to help them succeed in becoming tobacco free. The one-on-one telephone counseling sessions are scheduled at times convenient for the caller and all services are free. The Kansas Tobacco Quitline is also designed to assist physicians and health care providers work with their patients. Health care providers can call the Quitline to obtain office materials to share with patients.The Kansas Tobacco Quitline is being launched one week prior to the Great American Smokeout, an annual event held each year on the third Thursday in November. This nationally recognized event challenges people to stop using tobacco and raises awareness around the many effective ways to quit for good.

For tobacco users seeking help online, www.phc-inc.com/splash.asp is an online resource that provides a comprehensive, individually tailored smoking cessation plan. This Web site provides support groups and access to trained counselors. The telephone and online resources are available for tobacco users of all ages.

The Kansas Tobacco Use Prevention Program provides resources and technical assistance to community coalitions for development, enhancement and evaluation of state and local initiatives to prevent morbidity and mortality from tobacco use addiction. For additional information about the Kansas Tobacco Quitline contact the Kansas Tobacco Use Prevention Program at 1-877-602-0368 or go to www.phc-inc.com/splash.asp.

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